Antivirus Information

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Recently the Klez computer virus has been spreading like wildfire over the net, primarily through e-mail attachments. All Metro e-mail is processed through an immune non-Windows system to help stop this and other viruses. The Klez virus forges the "From:" line in the e-mails it sends, requiring further examination of the headers to see where it actually came from. As a public service, we are providing information and links to antiviral utilities to help reduce the spread of this virus. As these sites are in no way connected with Metro, we cannot take responsibility for their content, though at the time of this writing the information and utilities appear to be reliable.
 

  1. Symantec makes complete anti-virus applications as well as freely downloadable stand-alone programs to kill individual viruses such as Klez, Sirc, Elkern and many others.
  2. F-Prot also provides both complete antiviral applications and standalone antiviral programs which provide more technical information.
  3. NOD32, an Australian antivirus company, also provides information and utilities for the eradication of Klez and other viruses.
  4. Wired has two informative articles on this virus here and here.

As always, the first line of defense is to never open executable attachments from strangers, and to even be cautious with those you know (i.e. scan all attachments for viruses and never have attachments automatically executed [run]). Unlike most viruses, this one also attempts to disable popular antivirus software, so hold onto your original CD or zip file so you can reinstall it after cleaning. An infected system will pull e-mail addresses at random from text files, which it will use to forge the "From:" line as well as to select another address to send the virus to. So if you think your buddy just sent you a virus, think again; the e-mail was generated without the supposed sender's knowledge.
 
The person in the "From:" line may or may not actually be infected; to see where the e-mail really came from, it is necessary to examine the headers further. Note that non-Windows systems such as Mac, Unix and VMS are immune to this virus, which can only run under Windows. All viruses sent to Metro are deleted immediately and will not spread to any other system.


If you have any comments about this page or would like more information about Metro, please email Nick at mgwa@metrowrestling.org.

Page created:  June 15, 2002
Last updated:  June 15, 2002